Civilian Airmen Can Now Volunteer for Deployment via USAJOBs

Civilian Airmen who wish to volunteer for a deployment now have the benefit of using USAJOBs to submit their applications, which enhances their ability to pursue expeditionary civilian opportunities. (U.S. Air Force graphic by Kat Bailey

Civilian Airmen who wish to volunteer for a deployment now have the benefit of using USAJOBs to submit their applications, which enhances their ability to pursue expeditionary civilian opportunities.

The Air Force chose USAJOBs following an internal review of the myPers-based civilian deployment application process. The Navy has already adopted the USAJOBs process for recruitment and submission of Department of Defense-Expeditionary Civilian, or DoD-EC, program volunteer documents. The Air Force reviewed the Navy’s lessons learned, then adopted the new process, which removed excess steps.

“Innovation and agility are critical components of our Air Force maintaining a competitive edge, and those are also necessary components for us to be an employer of choice for our nation’s best and brightest civilian talent,” said Kimberly Toney, Air Force Personnel Center executive director. “The application process through USAJOBS streamlines the ability for our civilian Airmen to apply for expeditionary opportunities, which provide them valuable experiences serving alongside their uniformed colleagues in deployed environments.”

DoD-EC volunteers can still view available deployment opportunities on AEF online. Each opportunity will have a hyperlink to a requisition on USAJOBs where volunteers will submit their deployment application, resume, SF-50 and other documents for deployment consideration. Employees can also visit USAJOBs and search using “Department of the Air Force,” with “Afghanistan” as the location, for example. The legacy myPers-based process also remains available for use.

“USAJOBs allows us to provide more information in one stop on a platform civilian Airmen are used to seeing,” said Rusty Nicholson, DoD-EC program manager at AFPC. “It affords secure upload of application packages as well as administration of the requirements questionnaire. This streamlines the process, makes it easier for employees and their managers, drives efficiency and delivers additional resources that impact readiness.”

The majority of the DoD-EC opportunities are in the joint or coalition environment supporting real-world contingency missions, which gives civilian Airmen the opportunity to experience operations in diverse, high-tempo mission areas. AFPC plays a central role in this process by serving as a focal point for all their deployment issues.

According to Nicholson, most expeditionary civilians are non-prior service. He said civilian Airmen bring unique perspectives and capabilities to the complex challenges of joint warfighting, as well as wanting to have the same experiences as their military counterparts with whom they work.

“When they return, expeditionary civilians bring back a greater understanding of joint operations and the DoD mission, in addition to enhanced leadership skills,” Nicholson said.